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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spring — of water
  3. club — a group
  4. spring — the season
  5. tear — from crying
  6. can — a tin
  7. spring — a coil
  8. root — the cause
  9. march — the month
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — in golf
  13. can — to be able to
  14. race — a contest
  15. swing — music
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. root — of a word
  19. march — music
  20. can — a tin
  21. root — of a plant
  22. club — for golf
  23. race — the arms race
  24. club — for dancing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com